Lineage
by See Jane Write
Summary: Cordelia's daughter comes to the Hyperion with her adoptive mother in search of her real mother. Chapters Two and Three up.
1. Prologue

Lineage

Disclaimer: Joss owns anything and everything _Angel_.

Author's Note: Another really random thing. Takes place in the third season pre-"Offspring".

Prologue

Cordelia Chase sat at her usual position behind the desk at the Hyperion Hotel. The Chinese take-out she had delivered for lunch was spread out in front of her. She smiled happily, grateful for a slow day, and reached for the chopsticks.

"Ooh, something smells good," Charles Gunn announced as he walked into the hotel from the back entrance. He quickly walked over behind the desk and reached over Cordelia's thin shoulder for a bite.

"Hey, hey," Cordelia said defensively as she slapped at Gunn's hands. "This is mine. I waited forty-five minutes for this."

Gunn shrugged. "You know it's cheaper and faster if you go there to pick it up, right?" he asked her.

Cordelia nodded. "Yes, but it was early back then. Besides, what if a client was to call?" She smiled slightly as she turned back around and began eating her Chinese food.

"Well then the machine would get in," Gunn said plainly.

"What if one walked in?" Cordelia asked through a mouthful of rice. She frowned, swallowing before repeating her question.

"Like one is now," Gunn said as he pushed the Chinese back so it was out of sight from the other side of the desk.

The potential client looked a bit confused, but also very business-like. She was dressed in a black Armani suit with a green shirt underneath. Her curly red was pulled back into a bun. She looked over at Cordelia and Gunn. "Is one of you Cordelia Chase?" she asked in a rushed voice.

Gunn chuckled. "Yes," he answered plainly. Upon the woman's silence and blank looks, he added, "That's all the hints we're giving you."

Cordelia rolled her eyes as she stood up. "I'm Cordelia Chase," she said. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

The woman did not answer. Instead she pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. Seconds later she said something into the phone. Her voice was too soft that neither Cordelia nor Gunn could tell what she had said.

"Ma'am?" Cordelia tried again. "Is there something we can help you with?" she asked as she stepped out from behind the desk.

"You don't recognize me?" the woman asked. Her gaze was focused solely on Cordelia.

Cordelia shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't honestly say I know who you are."

The woman shrugged as she glanced back at the main doors. A young little girl, around the age of six or seven, came running in happily. She was dressed in a pink and white sundress and white sandals. Her brown hair was pulled up into two pigtails.

"Maybe this will refresh your memory," the woman stated. She looked down at the little girl. "That's Cordelia," she said as she pointed at Cordelia.

The girl's eyes widened with anticipation as she ran over to Cordelia. "Mommy!" she exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around Cordelia's knees.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

"Mommy?" Gunn questioned as he looked back and forth between Cordelia and the young girl. The child definitely looked like a younger form of Cordelia as they both had the same shade of brown hair. He shrugged, deciding that if there was a relationship, he could buy it. "I'm gonna need an explanation," he added as he looked over at Cordelia.

The young woman stood there in shock, glancing down at the younger girl still clutching her knees. Half of her was embarrassed that their reunion was being held like this, but the other half was filled with sadness at how much she had missed.

"Cordy?" Gunn asked a moment later. "There is an explanation, right?"

"Explanation for what?" Wesley Wyndam-Pryce asked as he entered the lobby from his desk. Angel followed right behind him. Wesley looked from the strange redhead, to Gunn, to Cordelia, and finally to the young girl at Cordelia's knees. She had the same long hair he remembered seeing in photographs of Cordelia when she was around that age. "Oh dear God," Wesley muttered.

"Yes, it's all very shocking," the redhead interrupted, "but I'm late for a meeting, so if you don't mind I'm going to take off."

"What about your daughter?" Angel asked curiously as the woman headed for the door.

"She's not mine," the woman replied as she opened the door. Without turning around, she added, "She wanted to find her actual mother." With that, the woman was out of the hotel.

"Which brings us back to what the hell!" Gunn explained as he turned back to Cordelia. "You never mentioned any of this."

Finally Cordelia spoke. She was still a little confused and in shock at the circumstances around her, but she had grasped that it was really happening. This was not some weird universe where her nightmares were back alive. If that were true, she would probably be suffering more painful visions. "Katie, do you want to draw or something?" she asked as she looked the young girl in the eye.

Katie thought about it for a minute. She really wanted to be around her mother, but she was sensing that was not possible. Besides, she wanted to be alone with Cordelia for a few minutes. She wanted to know the truth about herself, the things her adoptive mother could not tell her. She shrugged as she took Cordelia's hand and began walking behind the desk. "Ok," she agreed softly.

Cordelia smiled as she led her daughter back behind the desk. She quickly scanned the top of the desk for scrap paper. Upon finding none, she grabbed some from the printer. "There's paper. Pens and pencils are over to the left." She pulled out the fortune cookies leftover from her half-eaten Chinese lunch. "Cookie?" she offered.

Again, Katie shrugged. "Ok," she said softly. She usually was not so shy, but she was surrounded by older people she did not know. She had no memory of meeting any of them. With the exception of Cordelia, she had never heard any of them. She took a few cookies, grabbed some pens, and began drawing.

"Cordelia," Gunn repeated her name. "We're waiting."

Angel immediately turned and glared at Gunn. "Give her time," he commanded sternly as he walked over to Cordelia. He could not deny the fact that his feelings for the woman were changing each minute. She was obviously in emotional pain, and he wanted to be there for her. "Cordy?" he asked.

"Yes?" Cordelia asked as she sat down on the round couch. Her head was held in her hands, propped up in her lap. She let out a large sigh as before picking her head up. "What do you want to say?" she asked. "That I'm this horrible person? I'm this large slut for allowing this to happen and a cruel mother for giving her up at birth?"

"No," Angel stated honestly as he sat down next to Cordelia. He wrapped a comforting arm around her thin shoulders. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Katie looked up from her drawing at Cordelia. "Mommy, is that your boyfriend?" she asked innocently.

Cordelia glanced back at Katie as she shook her head slightly. "He's a very close friend," she stated. "Katie, this is Angel." She then turned to Angel. "Angel, that's my daughter Katie."

"Hi," Katie said innocently as she went back to her drawing. She picked her head up again. "Who are those men? Are they your boyfriends?"

Cordelia shook her head again. "They're just friends," she answered. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and Charles Gunn," she added. As she said their names, Wesley and Gunn both waved slightly at the young girl. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Why not?" Katie asked curiously. "All grown-ups have boyfriends. That's what my nanny says. She has a boyfriend."

Cordelia sighed. "That's a talk we'll have at a much later date," she said with a sigh. She turned back to Wesley, Gunn, and Angel. "I suppose you want answers as well," she added.

"That would be nice," Angel said. "But only if you're ready to talk about it."

"I think I am," Cordelia said. "It was freshman year…"


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Sunnydale Prep School

End of August 1995

Cordelia Chase smiled eagerly as she looked at herself once again. Her green plaid skirt was at the appropriate length of two inches above her knee. Her white button down shirt was tucked into that skirt. Her knee-high socks were pulled up all the way. Her black shoes had heels that clicked as she walked into the small private school.

She was glad that her father was able to get her into this school. She was tired of the public school system. That was the system with losers such as Xander Harris. She came to this school to get rid of those losers. This school was only for the extremely rich people's children.

She walked in the door cautiously and was instantly overwhelmed. For such a small school, there were a lot of hallways to go down. She hoped she still looked young enough to pull off the lost little girl look, but old enough so that people would not just dismiss her as a freshman and move on with their lives.

"Hey," some older guy said as he walked up to Cordelia. "You look a little lost," he said as he motioned for her to move closer.

"What gave it away?" Cordelia asked as she followed him. "I'm Cordelia Chase, by the way."

"Richard Rico," the older boy responded. "Pleasure to meet you." He took Cordelia's schedule from her hands. "This is the first dead giveaway," he told her. He glanced it over. "Oh, you have Kornfeld first period. My advice would be to skip class and come with me."

Cordelia's eyes were wide with amazement. "They let you do that?" she asked. She then instantly frowned, realizing how lame that sounded. "I mean, I did it all the time at my old school. That's kind of why I'm repeating freshman year," she lied. She did not want to seem like that stupid young girl. This was a hot guy who might be interested in her. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"Gym closet," Richard announced. "Don't worry. It's completely safe. All the guys go there to make out and stuff."

­_Make out and stuff,_ Cordelia though to herself. That sounded harmless. She could always use a little kissing. She followed Richard to the closet. As soon as she was inside, Richard closed and locked the door. He then began unzipping his pants, allowing them to fall to the floor. He picked Cordelia up in his arms. He then frowned, noticing her worried expression. "What's with you? Don't tell me this is your first time."

"Well, if you want to be technical…"Cordelia began meekly.

Richard shrugged. "Well, you did come to this place to learn. What better place to start?" he asked as he kissed the base of her neck.

Hyperion Hotel

Fall 2001

"Um, Cordelia," Wesley interrupted as he gestured his head down at little Katie. "There is a little child here." Luckily, she was still drawing and was unaware of what was going on around her.

"I know," Cordelia pointed out. "I wasn't going to go into graphic detail. We had, um, fun," she said carefully. "The next thing I knew, I was asleep…"

Sunnydale Prep School

End of August 1995

Cordelia lay sleeping peacefully on the cold linoleum floor of the gym closet. She had a worn football under her head as a pillow. During her slumber, Richard had left the closet. Worse, he left it unlocked. Cordelia rolled over slightly in her sleep, accidentally kicking the door open with her left foot.

The principal of the school instantly turned around to face the door that opened itself. He knew of some of the weirdness associated with this town, but as far as he was concerned, the weirdness occurred over at the public high school. Intrigued, he walked over towards the door. He nearly fainted once he saw the young girl sleeping on the floor. "Miss," he said as he bent down. "Miss," he added as he began shaking Cordelia's shoulder gently.

Cordelia let out a yawn and extended her arms in a stretch to wake up. In doing so, she accidentally hit her new principal on the nose. That definitely woke her up. "Oh my god. I am so sorry," she began.

"What exactly were you doing in the closet?" the principal asked as he looked disapprovingly at Cordelia. "And who are you? Answer the latter question first."

"M-my name's Cordelia Chase," Cordelia began softly. "I'm a freshman, and I'm not really sure why I was in there. The last thing I remember was this older guy taking me in."

The principal rolled his eyes. "Come with me," he said as he rose from the ground.

Hyperion Hotel

Fall 2001

"That was it," Cordelia concluded. "The principal called the hospital, and they treated it as a rape. I was off in my counting, so I thought there was no possible way I could be pregnant." She looked over at Katie. "Obviously, I was wrong."

"How'd your parents take it?" Angel asked.

Cordelia sighed. "Not as well as I'd hoped, but then again, they were never really involved with my childhood anyway. I told my dad, and he just got this look. He handed me a credit card and told me to charge anything baby-related to that card. That was it. The only other thing they did was drive me to the hospital when it was time to give birth in June. Of course, I had to get out of Sunnydale Prep."

"You were expelled?" Wesley asked in confusion.

Cordelia shook her head. "Not exactly. They frowned upon my pregnancy and hinted that they would like me to consider other schools. That's how I ended up at Sunnydale High." She glanced over at Katie once again. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be with you guys today."

"That still doesn't explain the redhead," Gunn started.

Cordelia nodded. "Right. Well, obviously, I could not raise her and go to school at the same time. I wanted to, and tried to for the first month of sophomore year. It was just too hard. My parents were unwilling to watch her during the day, and I felt she needed more care than a daycare center could provide for her." She sighed heavily. "I had to give her up." She looked over at Katie again. "If you don't mind, I'd rather have this conversation with her first."

"Of course," Angel said. "Take the rest of the day off - the rest of the week if you'd like."

Cordelia smiled gratefully at her boss. "Let's start with the day and see where it takes us," she said. She walked over to Katie. "You want some ice cream?" she asked.

"Yea!" the little girl said excitedly.


End file.
